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Tuesday November 15

The first MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models are arriving, and if you were encouraged by the removable SSD OWC found in the entry-level machine, there’s bad news. Owners who have opened them up are finding that the SSD chips in the Touch Bar machines are permanently soldered to the logic board.

This means that, like the 12-inch MacBook, the SSD size you order from Apple is the capacity you’re going to be stuck with for the life of the machine, so you may want to take a fresh look at those rather eye-watering upgrade prices.

The SSD chips are beneath some shielding, but one owner was brave enough to...

Apple is releasing a product this week that isn’t a phone or a watch or a computer. It’s a 450-page book documenting the past 20 years of Apple design, or, in other words, a book of photos of Apple devices. At $300, it costs more than some of those devices.

The book, called “Designed by Apple in California,” comes in a large (13-by–16.25 inches) and a cheaper, smaller (10.20-by–12.75 inches) size. The smaller version is a mere $200. Both versions will be available to buy online or in select Apple Stores on Wednesday.

With limited quantities available, shoppers can pick up a 32GB 9.7" iPad Pro in Rose Gold (Wi-Fi + Cellular) for $599 ($130 off) at B&H. Or snap up a 15" MacBook Pro (Mid-2015) for $1,599.99 on eBay while supplies last. Looking for a budget-friendly laptop? The 11" Air (Mid-2013) is $600 off on eBay as well.

The China Consumers Association (CCA) has asked Apple to investigate "a considerable number" of reports by users of iPhone 6 and 6s smartphones that the devices have been shutting off and cannot be turned back on again, reports Reuters.

The problems seem to involve users seeing their iPhones automatically shut off despite 50% to 60% battery levels, and the involuntary shutting off in room temperature or colder environments, as well as the inability to turn the cellphone back on despite continuous battery charging, according to the CCA.

"In view that Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s series cellphones in China have a considerable number of users, and the number of people who've reported this problem is rather many, China Consumer Association has already made a query with Apple," the association said in a statement on its website. The CCA is a national organization designed to protect...

The China Consumers Association on Tuesday asked Apple to investigate complaints that some iPhone 6 and 6s units are shutting off suddenly and permanently, despite nominally having plenty of charge left.

In a move that many of its users have been eagerly waiting for, WhatsApp is adding video calling to its apps. The Facebook-owned company says the new feature is rolling out worldwide in the coming days. WhatsApp’s more than one billion users will be able to use the new feature on Android, iPhone, and even Windows Phone devices (we presume that means Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile).

wattOS is a stunning example of really great things coming in small packages. wattOS is a lightweight and fast desktop Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS built around the LXDE. It uses the lightweight Openbox window manager as its default user interface. To credit this 8-year-young community of developers with birthing an energy-efficient Linux distribution is an understatement. It has phenomenal performance on older hardware that lacks resources. It installs on computers with as little as 192 MB to 256 MB of RAM.

The first-ever mobile game featuring Super Mario goes on sale for iPhone and iPad on Dec. 15 in United States time zones. Super Mario Run can be downloaded from the App Store at no cost, and players can try elements of the game’s three modes for free.

Once the game has been downloaded, a one-time payment of $9.99 (United States price) will grant unlimited access to each of the three modes in this release. Super Mario Run is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices running iOS 8.0 or later. Starting on Dec. 15, the game will launch in...

In-store shopping reigns supreme for Black Friday, with a majority of consumers poised to get up early and hit brick-and-mortar stores. According to a survey conducted by leading savings destination RetailMeNot, 40% of shoppers feel they get the most savings than any other shopping day. And the iPhone 7 looks to be a hot seller on Black Friday.

Removing the element of price, these are the most requested items in the electronics category, the top category on most shoppers’ wish lists: Video game console (22%); iPhone 7 (18%); wireless ear buds (18%); and a smartwatch (16%). Obviously, the RetailMeNot survey also looks good for Apple’s AirPods (assuming they’re available in time for the holidays) and the Apple Watch.

Technology is now playing a part in saving money on Black Friday as well. Now more than ever shoppers are using their smartphones while in stores to complete their purchases.

Shazam has told CNET that it will be changing the way the Mac app works in response to privacy concerns. This is despite an earlier statement to Motherboardthat it had no reason to make changes.

Security researcher Patrick Wardle yesterday spotted that the Shazam app keeps the Mac’s microphone switched on even when the app is set to off. Wardle’s blog post noted that the app doesn’t process audio data in any way when it is set to off, and stated that he was ‘conflicted on whether or not this is a big deal.’ But the publicity seems to have spooked Shazam, which has now said...

Fortunately, I do not have to make guesses at what’s going on in Apple’s mind. Perhaps motivated by the grumbling in rainbow-fruit land, Apple’s SVP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller came to the phone last week to decode the company’s motivations, and stridently counter the cavils of the doubters.

And, from Phil Schiller:

“If we were to do Multi-Touch on the screen of the notebook, that wouldn’t be enough — then the desktop wouldn’t work that way.” And touch on the desktop, he says, would be a disaster. “Can you imagine a 27-inch iMac where you have to reach over the air to try to touch and do things? That becomes absurd.” He also explains that such a move would mean totally redesigning the menu bar for fingers, in a way that would ruin the experience for those using pointer devices like the touch or mouse. “You can’t optimize for both,” he says. “It’s the lowest common denominator thinking.”

Nintendo’s upcoming Super Mario Run title for iPhone and iPad now has both a release date and a price tag. Apple brought Nintendo’s Shigeru Minamoto on stage earlier this year at the iPhone event in September to first unveil the upcoming game for iPhone and iPad — an iOS exclusive to start. At the time, we knew the game would launch in December and be free to try with an in-app purchase to fully buy. Now we have solid details for both price and release…

Apple Inc. is weighing an expansion into digital glasses, a risky but potentially lucrative area of wearable computing, according to people familiar with the matter.

While still in an exploration phase, the device would connect wirelessly to iPhones, show images and other information in the wearer’s field of vision, and may use augmented reality, the people said. They asked not to be identified speaking about a secret project.

Apple has talked about its glasses project with potential suppliers, according to people familiar with those discussions. The company has ordered small quantities of near-eye displays from one supplier for testing, the people said. Apple hasn’t ordered enough components so far to indicate imminent mass-production, one of the people added.

If true, it’ll be interesting to see what Apple does differently than Google did with Glass. This is an area where subtlety of design will make all the difference.

Apple introduced new Touch Bar and Touch ID features on its 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro. Here's a look at how they work, what they're useful for, and the potential for seeing these technologies trickle out across the rest of Apple's Mac platform.

Responding to complaints about the new MacBook Pro line, Apple has announced a new product that features unlimited battery life, a higher-resolution display than any other Apple product, and silver gilding. Even better is its price: only $199 for the small version and $299 for the large. Unfortunately, it performs just one function: showing off current and previous Apple products.

That's right, "Designed by Apple in California" is an actual book that chronicles 20 years of Apple's design work through 450 photographs of Apple gear, from the iMac to the Apple Pencil. It also documents the materials and techniques used by Apple's design team. To justify the eye-watering price, Apple says the linen-bound hardcover volume is "printed on specially milled, custom-dyed paper with gilded matte silver edges, using eight color separations and low-ghost ink." No mention was made about upgrades.

Apple today announced the release of a new hardbound book chronicling 20 years of Apple’s design, expressed through 450 photographs of past and current Apple products. “Designed by Apple in California,” which covers products from 1998’s iMac to 2015’s Apple Pencil, also documents the materials and techniques used by Apple’s design team over two decades of innovation.

The book is dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs.

And:

“The idea of genuinely trying to make something great for humanity was Steve’s motivation from the beginning, and it remains both our ideal and our goal as Apple looks to the future,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer. “This archive is intended to be a gentle gathering of many of the products the team has designed over the years. We hope it brings some understanding to how and why they exist, while serving as a resource for students of all design disciplines.”

Apple’s delayed wireless AirPods may not be the only new earphones the company has in the works. A patent originally dating back to 2008 but only published today describes what seems a logical next step for a company increasingly focused on health and fitness: a sports earphone.

The patent describes two types of functionality, one geared to gathering biometric data to provide fitness data, the other allowing gesture-based control of an iPhone …

Make of it what you will, but Apple has applied for a design patent (number D771, 396) for a chair. The inventors are Kully Kraig Mandon, Andrew Charles Deffenbaugh, and Stefan Behling. Other than that the patent filing only has graphics (two of which are pictured).

Since Apple is really promoting health these days, perhaps it’s a chair such as the BalanceBall from Gaiam (pictured below) that’s designed to provide core strengthening, comfort and ergonomic back support and help to improve spinal alignment and reduce nerve compression. A study by Kansas State University says that people who spend more than six hours sitting each day are at higher risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Which means you need to be taking more standing breaks (at least once every 30 minutes). Perhaps Apple is interested in producing its own healthier chair.” iChair, anyone?

Apple has also been granted a patent (number 9,497,534) for a “sports...

Apple Pay is making it easier and more secure to donate to your favorite nonprofit organizations with just a touch. Apple Pay support for charitable donations kicks off today with nonprofits ranging from global organizations such as UNICEF to startups like charity: water, and more nonprofits will offer Apple Pay over the coming months so their supporters can make easy, secure and private payments.

Giving has never been so simple — by eliminating the need to enter billing and contact info, create an account or fill out long forms to check out, Apple Pay gives nonprofit supporters a way to donate instantly.

Unexpectedly, Apple debuted a new design book earlier today featuring over 20 years of Apple products, from the 1998 iMac to the 2015 Apple Pencil. Entitled ‘Designed by Apple in California’, the book is being exclusively published and sold by Apple, featuring over 450 photos.

What’s most interesting about this article is that the most innovative company (Apple) is not even on the list of top 10 in R&D spending. Number one on that list? Volkswagen AG, followed closely by Samsung.

Apple is working on wearable digital glasses that would connect wirelessly to the iPhone and show content in the wearer’s field of vision, according to a news report.

The iPhone maker has indicated previously its interest in augmented reality. Unlike the simulated world of virtual reality, AR supplements with images and information the user’s normal view of the world.

“We are high on AR for the long run. We think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earnings call in July, talking about the need for Apple’s devices to work with other developers’ products, such as the successful Pokémon Go game.

Apple on Tuesday announced the release of a new hardbound book chronicling 20 years of design, expressed through 450 photographs of past and current Apple products ranging from the original iMac to the Apple Pencil.

Apple has announced the release of a new hardbound book chronicling 20 years of Apple’s design, expressed through 450 photographs of past and current Apple products.

"Designed by Apple in California," which covers products from 1998’s iMac to 2015’s Apple Pencil, also documents the materials and techniques used by Apple’s design team over two decades of innovation. The book is dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs.

“The idea of genuinely trying to make something great for humanity was Steve’s motivation from the beginning, and it remains both our ideal and our goal as Apple looks to the future,” Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, says in a press release. “This archive is intended to be a gentle gathering of many of the products the team has designed over the years. We hope it brings some understanding to how and why they exist, while serving as a resource for students of all design disciplines.”

The company, which switched from Intel’s integrated Iris Pro graphics in favor of dedicated AMD graphics, has opted for AMD’s Polaris-based Radeon Pro 450, Radeon Pro 455, and build-to-order Radeon Pro 460 GPUs in the new 15-inch notebooks. The GPUs support up to six displays, whereas Intel’s integrated GPUs affixed to the logic board can drive a total of three displays.

The expanded support enables the new MacBook Pro to drive two of Apple and LG’s new UltraFine 5K displays at 60Hz simultaneously. Intel’s GPUs can’t because, due to bandwidth limitations of the DisplayPort 1.2 spec, the two 5K displays technically function as four displays. This method...

Popular image editing app Pixelmator was updated on Tuesday to take advantage of Apple's new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, macOS Sierra features like Universal Clipboard, Deep Images (DCI-P3 color), and all-new features like an intelligent smart refine tool.

It’s a sign of both Microsoft and Apple growing up to the point that they’re sharing development tools for each other’s platforms.

Microsoft has announced that it will be launching Visual Studio, its primary coding interface, for macOS. This has been a long time coming, but it’ll allow developers to easily write for platform-independent cloud services like Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon’s Amazon Web Services.

The software is based on app development platform Xamarin Studio, and the change could encourage Mac and iOS developers to make more apps for Windows, as these users will no longer have to buy a Windows computer or set up a virtual machine to access Visual Studio.

Microsoft made a similar announcement earlier this year when the company announced it would be adding native support for Linux command line Bash to...

(The update is rolling out now, it may take some time to propagate across all App Store regions)

Pixelmator for Mac today updated to version 3.6 optimized for macOS Sierra and the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar, as well as a handful of other enhancements for the photo editor. Pixelmator 3.6 includes support for the latest macOS Sierra APIs, like Universal Clipboard and Tabs. Tabs enable users to edit multiple Pixelmator documents in a single window. As promised at the Apple event, this update brings a contextual row of Pixelmator editing tools into the Touch Bar present in the new MacBook Pros.

The update also includes new ways to make selections, including a content-aware Smart Refine, a live preview Quick Selection, wide color image support, and more.

Apple’s new ‘TV’ app has begun rolling out to Apple TV owners in the USA. Apple explained last month that the app is intended to bring together shows from multiple TV apps into a single view.

“Using apps on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad has become the primary way for so many of us to watch television,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The TV app shows you what to watch next and easily discover TV shows and movies from many apps in a single place.”

The new MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar is, as Macworld’s Susie Ochs puts in the video of her review, “pretty slick.” But you don’t have to shell out any money to get a Touch Bar on your Mac. Red Sweater’s Touché is a free app (donations accepted) that simulates the Touch Bar on your Mac’s screen.

If your Mac is running slowly or erratically and nothing else — including resetting the NVRAM — has worked, you can reset the SMC (system management controller).

However, you should do this only after you’ve tried all other standard troubleshooting issues. Why? SMC is a chip in your Mac that’s involved in running a lot of the physical parts of the machine, like LED indicators, keyboards and other peripherals, cooling fans, and power buttons. It also plays a role in the behavior of your hard drive, how your computer behaves in sleep mode, and the power supply.

To reset SMS, shut your Mac down, unplug all cables, wait a couple of minutes and then plug the cables back in and start up the Mac. After you perform normal troubleshooting, these symptoms may indicate that an SMC reset could be necessary:

WhatsApp is competing directly with FaceTime in its latest update, which offers video calls with end-to-end encryption. The company appears to indirectly reference the iPhone in its blog post announcing the new feature.

We’re introducing this feature because we know that sometimes voice and text just aren’t enough. There’s no substitute for watching your grandchild take her first steps, or seeing your daughter’s face while she’s studying abroad. And we want to make these features available to everyone, not just those who can afford the most expensive new phones …

Apple has announced a new hardbound book, available for $199 or $299 online at Apple.com and Apple retail stores from tomorrow, which charts a 20-year history of Apple design from the iMac in 1998 to the Apple Pencil in 2015. The book features 450 photographs of Apple products new and old, including iPhone, iPod and Apple Watch.

The book is called ‘Designed by Apple in California’ and is dedicated to Steve Jobs. Jony Ive has also conducted in a video interview discussing the commemorative book.

QuickerTek lets you upgrade your 802.11 ac Apple Airport Base Station Extreme or Time Capsule (both of which are overdue for an update) by adding six high gain external antennas to the unit. This acHex antenna upgrade provides dual-band 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz WiFi and also triples the WiFi strength of any version of the new Apple ac Base Station Extreme and/or Time Capsule.

The improvement in wireless power is accomplished by optimizing antenna location. QuickerTek can either supply a new Apple unit, or the customer may send in their own Apple unit.

With the addition of six high gain dual-band 5dBi antennas, users can position the upright and articulated antennas to work best for their specific work area. Placing wireless equipment for optimum performance becomes much less troublesome. This upgrade also boosts AppleTV and any other wireless networking task. Users can also experience the...

According to Apple insiders, Cupertino's next foray into the quickly expanding wearables market will be digital, augmented reality glasses. As Bloomberg reports, Apple has discussed a potential competitor to Snapchat's Spectacles and Google's Project...

Unless you have Skype configured to boot-up when you start your computer, starting the program, logging in and connecting to a call can be mildly tedious. It's not anymore -- Microsoft just announced a new 'Guest' mode for Skype that makes user accou...

Monday November 14

Apple on Tuesday was granted a patent that extends a nearly decade-old invention covering a wearable sports and health monitoring device, specifically incorporating language that seemingly accommodates platform features introduced with the new AirPods wireless headphones.

Unlike stealing someone's cab, jumping into the wrong Lyft or Uber isn't a jerk move, it's usually just an embarrassing mistake for whoever does it. With that in mind, Lyft wants to make getting into the ride you hailed easier with a branded dashboar...

WhatsApp has introduced a number of new features in recent months but perhaps the most eagerly awaited has been video calling. Some users briefly flirted with video calls back in May but it took until October before a wider set of Android device owne...

While the US military has enjoyed several decades of aerial dominance with few enemy fighter planes to shoot down, the emergence of ISIS drones presents a new threat to American ground troops. To combat swarms of these cheap, small dangers, the US Ar...

A world where the majority of vehicles on the road are electric is pretty much inevitable at this point. With that in mind, British luxury automaker Jaguar unveiled its first battery-powered vehicle at the LA Auto Show. But it's not the coupe or tour...

Legal-minded chat bots are useful for more than just fighting parking tickets -- they might just start your life in a new land. Visabot has launched a namesake Facebook Messenger chat AI that helps you complete US visa applications. After you answe...

Shoe and accessories boutique TOMS on Monday announced a new line of Apple Watch straps featuring woven fabric and leather accents, with each purchase providing one year of solar light to people in need.

Facebook has followed Google's example and finally banned fake news sites from using its ad network to generate revenue, according to The Wall Street Journal. Fake news websites now fall under the "misleading, illegal and deceptive sites" category, w...

Timed to coincide with deliveries of its new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, Apple on Monday posted a special Mac App Store section dedicated to apps enhanced to support the laptop's Touch Bar, a unique feature that debuted with this year's release.

Popular charitable shoe and clothing company TOMS has today announced its own lineup of Apple Watch bands. While the company has yet to formally reveal the effort, the bands are live on TOMS.com, as is the new One-to-One initiative to go alongside the accessories…

Even if you couldn't get your hands on an ultra-exclusive pair of Power Mags, there is a way to get self-lacing Nikes in 2016. The company's HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes are about to go on sale, and they automatically adjust when the wearer puts them on. Des...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Apple is weighing an expansion into digital glasses, a risky but potentially lucrative area of wearable computing, according to people familiar with the matter. While still in an exploration phase, the device would connect wirelessly to iPhones, show images and other information in the wearer's field of vision, and may use augmented reality, the people said. They asked not to be identified speaking about a secret project. Apple has talked about its glasses project with potential suppliers, according to people familiar with those discussions. The company has ordered small quantities of near-eye displays from one supplier for testing, the people said. Apple hasn't ordered enough components so far to indicate imminent mass-production, one of the people added. Should Apple ultimately decide to proceed with the device, it would be introduced in 2018 at the earliest, another person said. The glasses may be Apple's first hardware product...

With the 2016 election wrapped up, so are the fall seasons of a few TV shows. Still, the big news this week is the launch of Amazon's new The Grand Tour car show, featuring the former hosts of BBC's Top Gear. The premiere episode arrives Friday morni...

Adding to rumors that Apple will soon enter the augmented reality market, a report on Monday claims the company is working on a pair of "digital glasses" that overlays images and other useful information onto a user's field of vision.

No one could be confused by the difference between an iBook and a PowerBook. The PowerBook was more expensive, faster, had a better display, and even used more “serious” design language — iBooks were candy-colored and the PowerBooks were matte black.

Much has changed since then, including all those product names (except for the iMac). About midway between then and now, Apple introduced what I believe to be the best-selling Mac notebook in history: the MacBook Air.

At the time the Air was introduced in 2008, Apple’s other notebooks were the “regular...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: What's that song? On your cellphone, the popular app Shazam is able to answer that question by listening for just a few seconds, as if it were magic. On Apple's computers, Shazam never turns the microphone off, even if you tell it to. When a user of Shazam's Mac app turns the app "OFF," the app actually keeps the microphone on in the background. For the security researcher who discovered that the mic is always on, it's a bug that users should know about. For Shazam, it's just a feature that makes the app work better. Patrick Wardle, a former NSA hacker who now develops free Mac security tools, discovered this issue thanks to his latest software OverSight, which is designed to alert users when apps use their webcam and microphone. After he released OverSight, Wardle received an email from a user who noticed that the security app alerted him that Shazam was still listening even after he had switched the toggle to "off." Curious...

Google made headlines recently about the top search result for 'final election numbers' being patently false. Now the company is going to keep fake-news sites from using its nigh-ubiquitous AdSense program according to the Wall Street Journal. In a s...

Apple is considering expanding into digital/smart glasses, “a risky but potentially lucrative area of wearable computing,” according to Bloomberg, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”

The article claims the glasses would connect wirelessly to iPhones, show images and other information in the wearer’s field of vision, and may use augmented reality. Should Apple ultimately decide to proceed with the device, it would be introduced in 2018 at the earliest, Bloomberg says.

Chances this rumor is true: 90%. Apple is absolutely considering smart glasses. After all the company has been granted several patents for such technology. iGlasses, anyone?

The Late 2016 MacBook Pro lacks many of the convenient ports that we’ve seen on previous MacBook releases. But if there’s a silver lining to be found, it’s that the USB-C ports featured on the new machines are super-versatile.

With a single USB-C cable, for instance, you can tap into CalDigit’s USB-C Dock, which gains you instant access to multiple legacy USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, an extra USB-C port, and an additional 3.5mm headphone jack along with a microphone jack.

In addition, the unit is able to charge a MacBook up to 60W. That means that the dock should do fine charging the smaller 13″ MacBook Pro at full speed, but will take a bit longer charging the 15″ MacBook Pro that ships with a larger power adapter.

One of the coolest bits from Arrival isn't the sci-fi movie's Lovecraftian aliens or its stunning cinematography (although, to be fair, those are both great), it's the Heptapods' language. Figuring out a way to communicate with beings without provoki...

The folks who brought Vine into the world last month introduced a new video broadcasting app called "Hype." Available for free from Intermedia Labs in Apple's iTunes App Store, Hype not only allows users to broadcast live to the Internet, but also lets followers interact with their broadcasts in real time. At first blush, it might seem that Hype's offering closely mirrors Periscope and Facebook Live, but that's not the case, said Jack Kent, a senior analyst for mobile media at IHS Markit.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple is currently weighing the possibility of expanding into the field of digital glasses. While the report is sparse on details, it notes that the market could be particularly lucrative for Apple.

Red Sweater apps has introduced Touché, a free app that emulates the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pros on any Mac. Apple provided a “simulator” to developers, so they can get a sense for how the Touch Bar works, and test their own apps with the Touch Bar, without having to buy a new MacBook Pro.

The folks at Red Sweater say the simulator is cool, but has shortcomings:

You have to download Xcode to use it.

It’s cumbersome to activate and deactivate.

Taking screenshots of the Touch Bar is awkward.

Touché is their answer to those shortcomings. If you’re an everyday user who just wants to play around with the Touch Bar concept, a developer who wants a an easy way to toggle the virtual Touch Bar off and on, or a designer who needs to share screenshots from the Touch Bar frequently, you should give Touché a look.

LinkNYC's free, gigabit-grade WiFi is all over large chunks of New York City, but there's a conspicuous Brooklyn-sized gap... or rather, there was. The communication network has switched on its first two Brooklyn kiosks, both of them on Fulton Stree...

Like a prequel to The Martian crossed with an educational documentary, National Geographic's Mars is an earnest attempt at inspiring a new generation about a manned mission to the red planet. But what's most intriguing is how much it puts Elon Musk's...

Whereas Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pros feature integrated Iris Pro graphics, the 15-inch MacBook Pros feature dedicated AMD graphics, resulting in significant performance improvements over previous MacBook Pro models. Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham found the Radeon Pro 455 graphics chip in particular to be a "significant boost" over the dedicated GPUs available in the 2012-2015 MacBook Pro models, such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 650M, Nvidia GeForce GTX 750M, and AMD Radeon R9 M370X. MacRumors reports: AMD's Polaris-based Radeon Pro 450, Radeon Pro 455, and built-to-order Radeon Pro 460 GPUs in the new 15-inch MacBook Pro support up to six displays, whereas Intel's integrated GPUs affixed to the logic board can drive a total of three displays. The expanded support enables the new MacBook Pro to drive two of Apple and LG's new UltraFine 5K displays at 60Hz simultaneously. Intel's GPUs can't because, due to bandwidth limitations of the DisplayPort 1.2 spec, the two 5K displays...

With supercomputers for brains and perfect 360-degree vision, one would imagine it would be fairly simple for an autonomous vehicle to pass the time-honored driver's ed test of performing a three-point turn. But according to Google's self-driving car...

The threat of drone collisions near airports isn't just scary -- it can lead to very real injuries, even if there's no accident. Canada's Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident where a Porter Airlines flight bound for Toronto took...

A 58-year-old woman left paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) has now become the first patient to use a brain-computer interface to restore some of her day-to-day functions. The woman was left "almost c...

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’Tis the giving season, and I’m not talking about Black Friday deals for family and friends. Apple is now making it possible for well-meaning folks to donate money to their favorite causes by taking all the work of entering payment details out of the equation.

Apple Pay just rolled out support to nearly 20 nonprofits, including heavy-hitters like the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, charity:water, (RED), St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, UNICEF, and World Wildlife Fund. The company will soon support the American Cancer Society, CARE, DonorsChoose.org, PBS and local PBS stations, and the United Way.

Apple’s new MacBook Pro replaces the function row of keys with a dynamic screen called the Touch Bar, and customers who pre-ordered early are starting to see them ship as soon as today. Apple Stores should also receive inventory to try out this week, but you can test drive how macOS will handle the Touch Bar from your current Mac with a new app called Touché.

Nokia made some great smartphone cameras back in the day, but we certainly didn't expect that to lead to the Ozo, a $45,000, 360-degree 3D virtual reality camera. Now, the Finnish company will provide expertise and Ozo cameras to Sony Pictures, which...

Building custom charts? Try Victory, a data visualization library for React.js and React Native. Victory is used by companies like Airbnb, FiveThirtyEight, and speedtest.net. Victory makes it easy to get started without sacrificing flexibility. Use the same API to create charts for web and mobile devices. Created and supported by the open source team at Formidable, free use under the MIT license.

For the third year in a row, carbon emissions around the world have remained flat, according to the research group Global Carbon Project. The group revealed its findings in the Global Carbon Budget 2016, which measures how much carbon is emitted by c...

If you're looking for a pair of affordable wireless headphones for your holiday wish list, Marshall has a new model just in time to alert Santa. The Mid Bluetooth follows the Major II in the company's line of Bluetooth-equipped headphones, touting th...

To deliver that, Google Play Music uses machine learning to figure out what music you like and then mixes in signals like location, activity, and the weather along with hand-picked playlists to personalize music for wherever you are and whenever you want tunes. Starting this week on Android, iOS and the web, the new experience will roll out globally (62 countries, to be precise).

Apple Pay has had a great couple months. While global expansion explained its 500 percent year-over-year sales increase, the service is also growing online, as it added Squarespace support back in September. It's not stopping with commercial business...

In the last week, Facebook's been battling the accusation that fake, often inflammatory stories showing up in users' Newsfeeds influenced how people voted in the presidential election. The social media giant vowed it is currently taking the issue ser...

Apple Pay support for charitable donations kicks off today with nonprofits ranging from global organizations such as UNICEF to startups like charity: water. Nonprofits will offer Apple Pay over the coming months so their supporters can make easy, secure and private payments, according to Apple.

“We’re making it incredibly easy to give back with Apple Pay,” says Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay. “Websites and apps tell us they see twice as many people actually completing a purchase with Apple Pay than with other payment methods. We think offering such a simple and secure way to support the incredible work nonprofits do will have a significant impact on the communities they serve.”

One of the biggest problems with smartwatches is avoiding a dead battery. Whether it's forgetting to plug them in in time or having to fiddle with the unwieldy magnetic disk chargers, keeping a wearable juiced up is not as convenient as it should be....

It turns out that you can't even rely upon hydroelectric dams as a source of hope and optimism in 2016. Researchers have found that the technology is far more damaging to the climate than previously thought. A new study reports that dams emit 25 perc...

Apple Pay is now a payment option when making online donations to several nonprofit organizations. Apple announced that its mobile payment service can be used to donate to over a dozen nonprofits starting today with at least five more groups joining the list soon.

Apple has released macOS 10.12.2 beta 3 for Mac. The new update follows the initial macOS 10.12.2 beta at the end of October, followed by a slightly updated build earlier this month, and macOS 10.12.2 beta 2. Today’s build comes at version 16C48b over 16C41b and is available from the Mac App Store.

Aside from being a mouthful of numbers, macOS 10.12.2 includes Unicode 9.0 emoji support, which matches compatibility in beta versions of iOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.1.1.

Years ago, I worked as one of Rev. Robert Schuller's body guards (it was something to do on Sundays, I wasn't particularly religious) and one of his sayings was "when given lemons, make lemonade."
Personally, I wasn't excited about either presidential candidate, but I actually think Trump could be a better technology candidate than Clinton would have been. That is because she just didn't seem to fundamentally get why a personal email server was a huge security breach.

Apple appears to be retiring the built-in Videos app on iOS in favor of the new TV app coming next month. The behavior is introduced with today’s iOS 10.2 beta 3; iOS 10.2 beta 2 included both apps separately. Apple could still change this behavior in a future version of iOS 10.2, although there isn’t much need for both apps for most users.

Apple has released the third tvOS 10.1 developer beta for the fourth generation Apple TV. The upcoming software update so far has included early hooks for Apple’s new single sign-on feature which lets you authenticate with your cable provider to unlock all compatible paid video apps.

In the beginning, there was iWeb. It was an Apple app for easily making websites and it was good. But alas, Apple decided to ignore iWeb. Fortunately, RAGE Software stepped in with EverWeb, a Mac website builder app that featured the same ease of use of iWeb. Now EverWeb 2.0 has been released, bringing powerful blogging tools to the app as well as a number of other new features and faster performance.

EverWeb comes either as a standalone app ($79.95) for those who want to do their own hosting or as a subscription that adds hosting ($99.95 per year or $199.95 for a "pro" package). There's a free trial available as well for those who just want to get a feel for the app's capabilities.

What makes EverWeb similar to iWeb is the ability to use widgets to quickly add functionality to a website. Whether you're adding fully customizable contact forms,...

I’m a pretty big fan of Apple’s recently-launched Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones. The on-ear headphones, which we reviewed back in September, have a high upside for convenience, sound and style. Now that the headphones are widely available in stores, Apple has issued a new advertisement to highlight the advantages of the Beats-branded cans…and Amazon might have another pricing mistake on their hands dropping the...

Grab one while they last: MacMall on Monday became the first reseller to reflect near-term availability of 5 different retail configurations of Apple's Late 2016 MacBook Pros with Touch Bar, which the Apple authorized reseller expects to begin shipping later this week. In addition to skipping the 4-5 week wait at Apple, you can also save $15 to $34 on each model.

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Microsoft OneNote 15.29 - Free digital n...

OneNote is your very own digital notebook. With OneNote, you can capture that flash of genius, that moment of inspiration, or that list of errands that's too important to forget. Whether you're at... Read more

Spotify 1.0.44.100. - Stream music, crea...

Spotify is a streaming music service that gives you on-demand access to millions of songs. Whether you like driving rock, silky R&B, or grandiose classical music, Spotify's massive catalogue puts... Read more

SpamSieve 2.9.27 - Robust spam filter fo...

SpamSieve is a robust spam filter for major email clients that uses powerful Bayesian spam filtering.
SpamSieve understands what your spam looks like in order to block it all, but also learns what... Read more

VueScan 9.5.62 - Scanner software with a...

VueScan is a scanning program that works with most high-quality flatbed and film scanners to produce scans that have excellent color fidelity and color balance. VueScan is easy to use, and has... Read more

Fantastical 2.3.2 - Create calendar even...

Fantastical 2 is the Mac calendar you'll actually enjoy using. Creating an event with Fantastical is quick, easy, and fun:
Open Fantastical with a single click or keystroke
Type in your event... Read more

PCalc 4.4.4 - Full-featured scientific c...

PCalc is a full-featured, scriptable scientific calculator with support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations, as well as an RPN mode, programmable functions, and an extensive set of unit... Read more

Alfred 3.2.1 - Quick launcher for apps a...

Alfred is an award-winning productivity application for OS X. Alfred saves you time when you search for files online or on your Mac. Be more productive with hotkeys, keywords, and file actions at... Read more

OmniPlan 3.6 - Robust project management...

With OmniPlan, you can create logical, manageable project plans with Gantt charts, schedules, summaries, milestones, and critical paths. Break down the tasks needed to make your project a success,... Read more

Backblaze 4.2.0.990 - Online backup serv...

Backblaze is an online backup service designed from the ground-up for the Mac. With unlimited storage available for $5 per month, as well as a free 15-day trial, peace of mind is within reach with... Read more

AppDelete 4.3.1 - $7.99

AppDelete is an uninstaller that will remove not only applications but also widgets, preference panes, plugins, and screensavers along with their associated files. Without AppDelete these associated... Read more

Latest Forum Discussions

Galaxy on Fire 3 - Manticore brings the series back for another round of daring space battles. It's familiar territory for folks who are familiar with the franchise. If you've beaten the game and are looking to broaden your horizons, might we... | Read more »

The best apps for your holiday gift exch...

What's that, you say? You still haven't started your holiday shopping? Don't beat yourself up over it -- a lot of people have been putting it off, too. It's become easier and easier to procrastinate gift shopping thanks to a number of apps that... | Read more »

MyTona, based in the chilly Siberian city of Yakutsk, has brought a little festive fun to its hidden object game Seekers Notes: Hidden Mystery. The Christmas update introduces some new inhabitants to players, and with them a chance to win plenty of... | Read more »

PINE GROVE 1.0
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Games
Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes)
Description:
A pine grove where there are no footsteps of people due to continuous missing cases. The case is still unsolved and nothing has... | Read more »

Niantic teases new Pokémon announcement...

After rumors started swirling yesterday, it turns out there is an official Pokémon GO update on its way. We’ll find out what’s in store for us and our growing Pokémon collections tomorrow during the Starbucks event, but Niantic will be revealing... | Read more »

3 reasons why Nicki Minaj: The Empire is...

Nicki Minaj is as business-savvy as she is musically talented and she’s proved that by launching her own game. Designed by Glu, purveyors of other fine celebrity games like cult favorite Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Nicki Minaj: The Empire launched... | Read more »

Clash of Clans is getting its own animat...

Riding on its unending wave of fame and success, Clash of Clans is getting an animated web series based on its Clash-A-Rama animated shorts.As opposed to the current shorts' 60 second run time, the new and improved Clash-A-Rama will be comprised of... | Read more »

Leaks hint at Pokémon GO and Starbucks C...

Leaked images from a hub for Starbucks employees suggests that a big Pokémon GO event with the coffee giant could begin this very week. The images appeared on Reddit and hint at some exciting new things to come for Niantic's smash hit game.
| Read more »

DietSensor, Inc., a developer of smart food and nutrition applications designed to fight diabetes and obesity and help improve overall fitness, has announced the launch of its DietSensor app for... Read more

Best Buy has dropped their price on the 64GB Apple TV to $159.99 including free shipping. That’s $40 off MSRP.
32GB Apple TVs are on sale right now for $98 on Sams Club’s online store. That’s $51 off... Read more

12-inch Retina MacBooks, Apple refurbished, n...

Apple has restocked a full line of Certified Refurbished 2016 12″ Retina MacBooks, now available for $200-$260 off MSRP. Refurbished 2015 models are available starting at $929. Apple will include a... Read more

Apple has Certified Refurbished 13″ MacBook Airs available starting at $849. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each MacBook, and shipping is free:
- 13″ 1.6GHz/8GB/128GB MacBook Air: $849 $... Read more

Apple refurbished iMacs available for up to $...

Apple has Certified Refurbished 2015 21″ & 27″ iMacs available for up to $350 off MSRP. Apple’s one-year warranty is standard, and shipping is free. The following models are available:
- 21″ 3.... Read more

Apple’s Education discount saves up to $300 o...

Purchase a new Mac or iPad using Apple’s Education Store and take up to $300 off MSRP. All teachers, students, and staff of any educational institution qualify for the discount. Shipping is free:
-... Read more

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